Shiraz Allibhai set the bar high for the speakers to come –– who did not disappoint –– by choosing to speak on the topic ‘Culture and identity: memory and rupture’ –– the session’s rubric was The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme.1

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Egyptian architectural historian Seif El Rashidi gave the most insightful presentation via video link from London. 

With reference to the southern part of “historic Cairo” he spoke on the subject ‘Making historic cities work for their local communities’. He said it [the area he worked in] has a dense urban environment with hundreds of medieval monuments. Egypt has a long tradition of preserving monuments since the 19th century but people were never at the centre of such plans. They were seen as secondary or even detrimental to the efforts. Our [Rashidi’s] historic city programme sought to change that considering people as assets.

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• 1. Emphasising the need for having a connection with the past, he raised the question, “Who is writing history?” He mentioned the name of Peter Handke, the latest recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature, saying people call him a genocide apologist. “Who are our writers?” he asked, arguing why we should look 600 years back to underline “we were great”.

  Mr Allibhai said heritage sites piece the narratives of who we are, where we are going. History is being wiped out and markers of pluralism are being destroyed. “Cultural heritage is a source of pride for many communities,” he remarked.